


The Doctor and the Psychic Snake

by magicsparkles



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Guilt, POV The Doctor (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6162135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsparkles/pseuds/magicsparkles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when The Doctor's weakness is used against him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Doctor and the Psychic Snake

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I've recently gotten into Doctor Who and I got inspired to write this story. It takes place sometime after "The Angels Take Manhattan," when The Doctor is traveling alone. I wrote it mostly with the Eleventh Doctor in mind, but maybe a little of the Tenth too. I hope you enjoy reading!

“Thank you, Doctor. We are so grateful.” The Time Lord took the Pharaoh’s hands in both of his own. Leaning in, he said, “It has been my pleasure.” 

He spun around walking back up the sand dune towards the TARDIS. He had just given the Egyptians the technology they needed to finish the pyramids. He had had quite a day. Turning back once more he waved to the mighty Pharaoh. “Never stop progressing!” He called out.

The Doctor smiled as he turned the key in the lock, opening the TARDIS doors with a creak. He shut them again and plopped down on his chair at the control console, pondering where he would travel to next. 

He had been traveling alone for some time now, going against the advice of those dear to him. It wasn’t his first time however, nor would it probably be his last. He knew his limits and he also knew he would find a new companion to travel with to keep himself balanced. He just needed some time for now to let old wounds heal. When he was ready, he would find the right person again or they would find him. For the moment, he was faring rather well on his own.

Finally settling on a destination, The Doctor reached for a knob to start the TARDIS to life. It was then he noticed his psychic paper laid out there on the console. There was a message on it for him. It had been a long while since he had received a message. He picked up the psychic paper and brought it closer to his face. 

Written on it were the words “Help Me,” and the point in time was 1941, London.  
“Well then, it looks like we should heed the call for help.” Feeling a new sense of purpose, The Doctor reset the coordinates to 1941, London. He wasn’t sure of the specific location, but he would use the aid of the psychic paper and TARDIS to triangulate. She whirred to life and twirled her way through the time vortex.

The TARDIS materialized when they arrived. The Doctor was eager to find out where they ended up. He stepped outside. It was a dark chilly night, and there was snow on the ground. Winter time. He could never really keep up with the seasons. Being a Time Lord, they fluctuated wherever he went. Today could be Winter and tomorrow Summer. He never stayed in one place for too long, and time was not something he easily kept track of. It was all happening at the same time for him in his head. 

He drew his brown cloak around his body and walked forward, taking in his surroundings. He was on some docks, wooden, harbor perhaps. He certainly hoped whoever called for his help wasn’t locked behind a wooden door. His sonic screwdriver didn’t work on wood. The moon was out at least, so it provided some light in the darkness. It danced, reflecting off the waters lapping against the dock platform. On the other side were buildings, tightly packed together.

Where was this person who had called him for help? Then he saw a figure step out from between the buildings. It was small. As the figure came closer to the center of the path in the light, he could pick out more distinctive features. It looked like...a little girl? Creeping closer, he could see he was correct in that assumption. She looked about seven years old in human years, had short blond hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress. _Not the right kind of attire for this kind of weather_ , The Doctor thought.

He knelt down to her height addressing the child, “Hello there. I’m The Doctor. What’s your name?”

“Penny,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, Penny,” he replied smiling. This little girl was all by herself. No parents around? “Were you the one who called for me?”

The little girl nodded her head. Then she looked past The Doctor at the blue police box behind him. “Is that yours?” She asked, pointing at the TARDIS. 

The Doctor stood up again, glancing back at his beautiful machine and met her eyes once more. Hands on his hips now, he replied proudly, “Why yes, yes it is. It’s my TARDIS. It’s a time machine. Now then, you called me for help right? Are you in some sort of trouble? Can you show me?”

“Yes,” the girl said in a manner almost too mature for her age, “But first, can I have a look inside your TARDIS? I’ve never seen one before.” 

She was very curious and her natural curiosity intrigued The Doctor. He really couldn’t resist her charms. He knew that feeling of discovering something new and how wonderful it felt. “I would be delighted to show you. Come on.”

Penny followed The Doctor closely behind into the police box, which was so much bigger on the inside. He gleefully pointed out all the different controls and gizmos. “I have a swimming pool too you know! And bunk beds! And every kind of costume for every type of time period you can imagine! What do you think?”

The little girl ran her hand along the control console. “It’s very nice,” she said reservedly. Then she reached out for The Doctor’s hand with a wise smile. The Doctor mirrored her smile, took her hand, and then everything went dark.

The lights in the TARDIS had turned off, doors flung shut, and the power went completely out of her. But then she jolted, knocking The Doctor backwards. They were moving. He couldn’t see anything. He reached out for the control console. What happened? Then he thought of Penny, worried for her. “Penny! Where are you? Are you there?” There was no answer. Nothing. 

The TARDIS was running on her own without The Doctor at the controls. Without even power for that matter. How was that possible? The TARDIS had been possessed once before, even taken off without him, but this was something altogether different. All he could do was wait and see where she was taking him.

Eventually it all stopped. They had landed somewhere. He had no idea where and no idea where Penny went off to. It was still so dark to see anything.

Then the doors to the TARDIS flew outward and a blinding white light poured in. The Doctor shielded his eyes until they adjusted. He lowered his arm and saw just outside the TARDIS a woman was standing there, blonde and familiar looking. The Doctor’s eyes widened in shock. “Rose?”

“Doctor,” she said in a serious tone. And then her eyes narrowed more furiously. “Why did you leave me behind Doctor? I waited for you, and you never came back. Instead you left me in that parallel universe. How could you? You’re The Doctor. You could have figured it out.”

A lump began to form in his throat. She sounded so disappointed in him. He reached out a hand towards her, “Rose, I…” But before he could say any more, someone else appeared at Rose’s side.

It was Donna. Not her too. She folded her arms across her chest. “Why did you do it Doctor? Why did you erase my memories? All those wonderful adventures together, they’re all lost now. You left me nothing. How could you? I thought you of all people could figure this out. I begged you not to do it and you did it anyway.” She gave The Doctor a cold icy stare.

“I didn’t have a choice Donna. I’m so sorry,” he cried. She didn’t seem impressed by his answer.

“You always have a choice Doctor. Isn’t that what you always say to your enemies?” Donna retorted.

The Time Lord was welling up with tears. He had had enough of the torture. But it wasn’t over yet. Another two of his companions appeared on the other side of Rose. Amy and Rory.

“Why did you let that Weeping Angel get Rory, Doctor? It took us away from the life we knew. You forced me to make a decision I never wanted to make,” Amy said. But The Doctor knew very well it didn’t really happen like that. It was her choice.

Rory agreed. “I can never see my dad again, or anyone else I knew back home. Why did you let it happen? I really thought better of you, Doctor.” He shook his head in dismay.

“I had no idea!!! How was I supposed to know!!!?” The Doctor was shouting now in anguish. 

A sharp pain suddenly gripped his chest. “Aaaarghh!” he gasped. It was enough to bring him down to his knees. Placing a hand at his chest, he noticed one his hearts was slowing down. Something was horribly wrong, but what? He could survive with one heart, but not for too long. 

A second burst of pain filled his chest wall on the opposite side. Now his second heart was slowing down. It was as if his hearts were literally breaking. He was running out of time! He had to find out the cause of it before it was too late. 

He looked back through the open doors of the TARDIS. His former companions were still there, scowling down at him. Why were they here? Why now? Were they even real? The guilt was too much to bear. He held his head in his hands at a loss for what to do. Maybe he would just let himself die and regenerate again. His next incarnation could take over for him. Perhaps his friends were right. He was The Doctor. Why couldn’t he have done more? There was so much more he could have done. There was always a solution. Well, now he was at a loss.

He slumped against his control panel feeling defeated and ready to die. He took a last look at his friends he had so let down. It was then that he noticed something. Something very strange curled around Rose’s ankle. It was long and purple and scaly. The creature turned its head and hissed at The Doctor.

“Of course!” The Doctor stated leaning forward. “A psychic snake! That’s what’s going on here. Hiding themselves all over the universe, waiting for the right victim, feeding off their guilt, at the same time sucking the victim’s life away.” His thoughts were going a mile a minute. It was all making sense now. “You’ve infected my mind.”

The snake hissed again. “That’s how you did it didn’t you? You baited my weaknesses. You disguised yourself as a little girl, used your psychic abilities to reach my psychic paper, and called for me. All it took was one touch. Holding hands, for example. And now you’re just eating me alive aren’t you? That’s brilliant! Clever trap.”

The psychic snake swayed back and forth. The Doctor momentarily forgot himself as he was struck by another spasm of pain. “Right. Still dying,” he panted. While he knew what was happening to him now, he still wasn’t sure if he could actually fight it off. He had amassed so much guilt throughout his life span and now it was about to be his downfall. “Please....don’t do this,” he strained, begging.

The psychic snake did not seem to care. The Doctor resigned, awaiting his fate. _Come on, Doctor, you’re stronger than this_ , he thought to himself. He tilted his head to one side keeping his eyes on the creature. “Imagine me being undone by my own guilt.” He snorted at the absurdity of it all. “It’s not my fault. Well...sometimes it is, but I try to do the right thing by humanity and sometimes it’s still not enough. People die. I fail to save them. I make mistakes. Sometimes I go too far, but I’ve always only ever had the best intentions. And still, it never seems to be enough. I let them down anyway. Would you forgive me, if you were me?”

The psychic snake closed its mouth, unsure if the question was rhetorical. It probably couldn’t answer even if it wanted to.

“The thing about guilt is, it can eat you up alive, which is what you’re doing isn’t it? Feasting away. I’m probably a big meal for you. All that guilt. Festering.”

“I may never rid myself of guilt, but I can do something about how I react to it.” The Doctor began to feel a little bit stronger, his two hearts pumping a little bit faster. “I have faults and I accept them.” The snake curled around Rose’s ankle blinked. The Doctor became strong enough to stand. “That does not make me a bad guy.” The snake was now quivering. In fear? “I choose...to let it go.” 

The purple psychic snake uncoiled and disintegrated. The Doctor’s friends vanished with it. The TARDIS’s doors shut themselves and the engine warmed up once more. The lights turned on again. He did it! He pressed his hands against his chest, “Two functioning hearts.” He bent down breathing a sigh of relief. He almost thought he wouldn’t make it out of that one. Of all the dire situations he had been in, that was one of the most terrifying. The question on his mind now was, where had the psychic snake taken him?

He pushed the doors open and looked out. “Oh,” he said. He was still at the docks. He hadn’t actually gone anywhere. The psychic snake must have just made him thought he did. That was a relief. Stepping back inside, he drummed his fingers on the control panel. “We’ve been on so many adventures, you and I, girl, what’s one more? And this time, I will not let my guilt get to me again.” Turning knobs, pushing buttons, The Doctor and the TARDIS spun away into the night for their next grand adventure.


End file.
